December 22, 2016
'Jerry Maguire'
HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Chris Ryan and Juliet Litman to induct 'Jerry Maguire' into the Sports Movie Hall of Fame. Topics include: Rod Tidwell spin-offs, Tom Cruise Oscar snubs, the opening montage, Jonathan Lipnicki's pinnacle, “show me the money”, the best Cruise movies, the birth of the modern sports movie, and Cruise's romantic-lead chops.
Cast
Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire
Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell
Renee Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd
Regina King as Marcee Tidwell
Jay Mohr as Bob Sugar
Bonnie Hunt as Laurel Boyd
Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop
Jonathan Lipnicki as Ray Boyd
Jerry O'Connell as Frank Cushman
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Written by: Cameron Crowe
Notes
- This was originally a Sports Movie Hall of Fame episode celebrating the 20th anniversary, later folded into The Rewatchables. Bill calls it 'the first sports movie Hall of Famer that also cracks the rewatchable Hall of Fame.'
- Bill identifies 11 people who peaked in this movie: Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise, Kelly Preston, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jonathan Lipnicki, Bonnie Hunt, Jay Mohr, Glenn Frey (soundtrack), Roy Firestone, and Jerry O'Connell. Also peak Springsteen soundtrack and peak Michaels/Dierdorf/Gifford Monday Night Football booth.
- Tom Cruise lost the Oscar to Geoffrey Rush in Shine. Bill says this was Cruise's best and probably last real chance to win.
- Rod Tidwell's stats – 1,550 yards and 110 catches – would have put him 5th in the NFL in 1995 between Michael Irvin and Robert Brooks. But he only had about 4 touchdowns, and his only endorsement is a waterbed deal. Bill: 'Jerry Maguire might have been a terrible agent.'
- Based loosely on agent Leigh Steinberg, who later had serious personal problems.
- Bill's exhaustive timeline breakdown: Monday Night Football in Arizona ends around 10:15 PM, postgame/locker room takes 45 minutes, Cruise sprints to the airport, catches a 12:45 AM flight, lands at LAX at 1:15 AM, cab to Culver City – earliest arrival 1:45 AM. The divorced women's group is somehow still meeting.
- Juliet ranks Dorothy Boyd top 5 all-time rom-com characters. Sandra Bullock could have played the role – she had Speed (1994) and 'While You Were Sleeping' (1995) and this would have been the natural next step.
- Tom Cruise can't convincingly drink, smoke, or do drugs in movies. His drunk scenes in 'A Few Good Men' and 'Jerry Maguire' are notoriously bad.
Categories
Apex Mountain
- Bill's 11 peaks: Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise, Kelly Preston, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jonathan Lipnicki, Bonnie Hunt, Jay Mohr, Glenn Frey, Roy Firestone, and Jerry O'Connell.
- Also peak Springsteen soundtrack (over 'Philadelphia') and peak Michaels/Dierdorf/Gifford Monday Night Football booth.
Casting what-ifs
- Robert Downey Jr. could have played 'Jerry Maguire' – 'he would have been too good at the first 20 minutes of the movie, and not good enough at the end.'
- Brad Pitt – totally different movie. Costner – too wholesome. Mark Wahlberg – the worst possible 'Jerry Maguire'.
- For Dorothy Boyd: Sandra Bullock would have killed it (post-Speed, post-'While You Were Sleeping'). Helen Hunt. Elizabeth Shue.
- Elizabethtown was supposed to be the 'Jerry Maguire' follow-up for Crowe, but Ashton Kutcher was fired and Orlando Bloom couldn't carry the role.
Sequel, prequel, prestige TV or untouchable?
- Bill's pitch: Rod Tidwell with dementia from concussions. Jerry let him go because he'd been acting erratically. Could be a Netflix series.
- Also pitched: The Tidwells as their own show, or the rise and fall of Bob Sugar.
- The grown-up Lipnicki as an agent who breaks Jerry's heart – the reverse 'Jerry Maguire'.
The hottest take award
- Is this a sports movie or a rom-com? Bill says it's probably a rom-com if you had to choose. CR says it's both. Bill: 'If you made the exact same movie and Rod Tidwell was a rapper instead of a wide receiver, it's probably the same movie.'
- Juliet: Dorothy Boyd is a top 5 all-time rom-com character.